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Well, this puts a period on the sentence that was my last big paragraph of filmgoing for a while.

Now that I’m working for the Dodgers, my years of going to movies by the bushel will take a break. I saw nearly 60 of 2013′s films, but that number is going to come crashing down in 2014.

So for perhaps the last time for a while, here is my annual ranking of the films, using the system I designed long ago.

As I’ve said before, it’s a system that is decidedly personal, because film is decidedly personal. I don’t think there’s any such thing as a “best” film, but only a “favorite” film, because what we bring to a film and what we desire from it is so idiosyncratic. Here’s the boilerplate explanation:

Ambition (1-7): How much the film is taking on, in subject matter and in filming challenges?

Quality (1-10): As objective as I can be, how well do I think the film succeeds in achieving its ambitions?

Emotional resonance (1-13): How much did the film affect me personally. This category gets the most weight because it’s the most important – I’d rather see a flawed film that touches me than a technically perfect but emotionally stultifying picture.

Two last quick points: I wouldn’t get caught up in single-point distinctions – those don’t amount to a significant difference between films. I could tinker with the grades every time I revisit the list.

If you want to look back, here are four past charts: my favorite films of 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2006.

I will say this – I’m less enchanted with my system than I have been in the past. I don’t tend to award much variance in ambition, and I’m having more trouble distinguishing between objective quality and emotional resonance. But this isn’t the time I’m going to change things up, so here we go …

2013

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Blue Is the Warmest Color

3.5

9.5

10.5

23.5

Loved the deep, patient exploration of the arc of a relationship – it at once had an intimate and epic feel.

Gravity*

5

8.5

10

23.5

No film mixes cinematic and spiritual ambition better this year. A thriller in more ways than one.

Short Term 12

4

9.5

10

23.5

Spot-on great storytelling of both a character and a place.

Much Ado About Nothing

4

8.5

10.5

23

A movie that I found easy to cherish – a loving and lovable homage with its own originality.

12 Years a Slave*

4.5

9

9

22.5

Unassailable in its worth and inner integrity. I can’t explain why at times I felt numb. “Roots” had more impact.

Her

4

8.5

10

22.5

Takes what could have been a sitcom story and turns it into something extraordinary and moving.

Saving Mr. Banks

4

8.5

10

22.5

Strong movie throughout, and the stuff about the flawed fathers got to me.

A year ago, I published a couple of pieces for Variety on what I called “The Wallflower Syndrome,” named in honor of 2012′s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and describing films that weren’t getting the awards consideration they deserved, in large part because they didn’t have the right pedigree, or they simply weren’t loud enough to grab people’s attention.

Thanks to my new duties last year as awards editor at Variety, I saw by far the most films I’ve ever seen in a year. Including documentaries and a smidgen of 2013 films that I got a sneak preview of, I took in 84 in all. And it was a good year to take a deep dive, with lots of interesting, quality offerings.

So here is my annual ranking of the films, using the system I designed long ago. (Important clarifications, for work purposes: I am obviously not a professional critic, and these rankings are my own and completely unaffiliated with Variety.)

As I’ve said before, it’s a system that is decidedly personal, because film is decidedly personal. I don’t think there’s any such thing as a “best” film, but only a “favorite” film, because what we bring to a film and what we desire from it is so idiosyncratic. Here’s the boilerplate explanation:

Ambition (1-7): How much the film is taking on, in subject matter and in filming challenges? For example, is it offering both a romantic story and social commentary at once? How difficult was the film to make technically? This allows one to distinguish between two equally well-made films when one is Casablanca and the other is Animal House. Ambition isn’t the be-all and end-all, but it allows some extra credit to be given where it is due.

Quality (1-10): This is essentially how most films are graded – simply, how good are they. As objective as I can be, how well do I think the film succeeds in achieving its ambitions?

Emotional resonance (1-13): How much did the film affect me personally. This category gets the most weight because it’s the most important – I’d rather see a flawed film that touches me than a technically perfect but emotionally stultifying picture.

Just to give you a quick idea of how this works, here are the scores of my favorite films of all time.

Both are great movies in my mind, with Casablanca being objectively better and The Misfits being the most powerful to me emotionally. Now, there probably aren’t 10 people in the world who would consider these films equals, but that’s the whole point, isn’t it? This system helps us rank our favorites without trying to say that they’re definitively the best.

Two last quick points: I wouldn’t get caught up in single-point distinctions – those don’t amount to a significant difference between films. In fact, each time I look at the list, I feel like tinkering with some of the grades.

That last point is so true – I really find myself wanting to change the point totals again and again, and finally told myself I just had to stop.

If you want to look back, here are three past charts: my favorite films of 2011, of 2010 and of 2006.

Here we go …

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A Late Quartet

4.0

9.5

11.0

24.5

This movie has everything (that I need, anyway).

Beasts of the Southern Wild

4.5

9.0

10.0

23.5

Stunning. Unlike anything I’ve seen, but so much more than that.

Seven Psychopaths

3.5

9.5

10.0

23.0

Loved this. Funny, clever, meta, and also thoughtful and sensitive.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

4.0

9.0

10.0

23.0

They should make more movies like this about adults. A few quibbles but really well done.

Zero Dark Thirty

4.0

9.0

10.0

23.0

Like United 93, doesn’t mess around – and grips on multiple levels.

Argo

4.0

9.0

9.5

22.5

Riveting entertainment and great mix of humor and terror.

Django Unchained

4.0

9.0

9.5

22.5

Features style and substance, earns being provocative, and fun on top of it all.

Dangerous Liaisons

3.5

9.0

9.5

22.0

Spot-on adaptation, luminous and enjoyable and with no wasted moments.

Ginger & Rosa

4.0

9.0

9.0

22.0

Very believable mix of political and personal in a coming-of-age story; Fanning’s perf peaks in amazing ways.

“Two years ago, I was afraid of wanting anything. I figured wanting would lead to trying and trying would lead to failure. But now I find I can’t stop wanting. I want to fly somewhere on first class. I want to travel to Europe on a business trip. I want to get invited to the White House. I want to learn about the world. I want to surprise myself. I want to be important. I want to be the best person I can be. I want to define myself instead of having others define me. I want to win and have people be happy for me. I want to lose and get over it. I want to not be afraid of the unknown. I want to grow up and be generous and big hearted, the way people have been with me. I want an interesting and surprising life. It’s not that I think I’m going to get all these things, I just want the possibility of getting them. College represents possibility. The possibility that things are going to change. I can’t wait.”

Been listening to this song a lot lately for some reason. It was in the movie “FM,” which featured one of the great soundtracks of all time, and also played frequently on guitar at my summer camp. And then, until this month, I probably went about 30 years or more without hearing it.

Dan Fogelberg was getting made fun of a bit by the time the 1980s were in full swing, but he did have some sweet songs. Another favorite of mine is “Same Old Lang Syne.”

The game was to 100. Ann had a point total far worse than any of us in the 90s, while Ben, Tom and I were each in the 30s. There was a very good chance that the guy that won the next round would win the game.

I had what I thought was a good, safe set of cards, but somehow ended up with the Queen of Spades, which put me in third place and in jeopardy – especially because Ann had reached exactly 99 points. I shifted strategy and purposely picked up all the remaining hearts, putting me further in the hole compared with Ben and Tom – but keeping myself alive, by keeping Ann alive.

Then, in the next hand, I shot the moon – pushing Ann over 100 and the other two into worse scores than mine. It was a stunning comeback victory that would have had Brent Musberger awarding me all the Tostitos!

Rat Bastard Root Beer is a dull, lifeless brew that buzzes with the tasteless annoyance of a mosquito in a bug zapper. It needs to be gulped for the taste to have any sustain, but even that victory is short-lived. “Rat Bastard?” More like … well, no, it’s exactly like “rat bastard.”

River City Root Beer enters the palate neutral to slightly saccharine. It doesn’t taste of medicine, but it teeters close enough that the thought will cross your mind. A latent, more sincere sweetness is its finishing touch, making the beverage vaguely seductive, like a first date you’re not sure you should call again. But in a pinch …

Cool Mountain Root Beer frontloads its bite with a carbonated sizzle that has a slight echo of Pop Rocks, followed by a rather slim aftertaste. It’s not bad and certainly inoffensive, but there isn’t an abundance of joy in it.

With a $25 gift card to BevMo in hand, I decided to pursue a small but highly significant taste test of root beer. I bought several different brands and will be publishing reviews over the next few weeks. Here is the first:

* * *

Route 66 Root Beer has what I would call a classic non-mainstream taste – the sweet bite that you don’t get in an A&W or Mug. Goes down smoothly and unpretentiously, disappearing all too quickly.